Highway Corridor Management

The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) is responsible for managing the provincial highway corridor network. Through the application of legislation, policies, and guidelines, the ministry supports economic growth while ensuring the safe and efficient movement of people and goods across the province.

Responsible growth is supported by the two primary functions of Highway Corridor Management:

Highway Corridor Management permit administration

Review land use planning matters (municipal planning, development applications)

Highway Corridor Management permits

If you are planning a construction project on or near a provincial highway you may need a permit from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. Permits are issued by MTO's Highway Corridor Management Offices under the Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act. Applications from developers, municipalities, utility companies and the general public are reviewed to ensure they follow all policy rules and guidelines.

There are four types of highway corridor management permits:

Sign

If you are planning to erect or alter a sign or advertising device on a property within 400m (¼ mile) of any provincial highway right-of-way, you may require a permit. There are certain restrictions as to setback, size and location, that are considered when issuing sign permits.

Building and Land Use

Building and land use permits are available for either commercial developments or residential developments.

If you are considering commercial or residential constructing or renovating a house / barn / shed, drilling a well, installing a swimming pool or underground storage tanks, etc. close to or adjacent to a provincial highway, you may require a residential building and land use permit.

Entrance

The ministry controls all residential and commercial entrances to provincial highways and all entrances must be constructed to ministry standards. You may not construct an entrance to a provincial highway without a ministry entrance permit.

You also require an entrance permit if you have purchased a property that has an existing access to a provincial highway, as entrance permits do not change ownership with title.

If you are planning to construct an entrance to a highway from a commercial development, upgrade an existing residential entrance to a commercial entrance, or modifying an existing commercial entrance, etc., an entrance permit is required.

Encroachment

Typically, an encroachment is any installation or works, upon, under or within the limits of a provincial highway right-of-way placed by someone other than MTO.

Encroachments may include signs, survey work, banners, acceleration and deceleration lanes, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, safety islands, sewers, pipelines, coaxial or fibre optic cable, or other works or structures that may during the construction, installation, or maintenance thereof, obstruct, cause material to be deposited upon, enter upon, take up, bridge over, tunnel under or in any way interfere with the land within the limits of a highway or the roadway or any structure forming a part of the highway.

For those applicants applying for a residential encroachment for utilities, the applicant will be required to check off "residential" on the encroachment application form followed by a detailed work description confirming the encroachment is servicing a private dwelling or private farm.

Residential Encroachment – An encroachment by or on behalf of a private individual pertaining to a private farm or a private dwelling. A residential encroachment may include a water pipeline, gas pipeline, hydro, telecommunications or other installation upon, under or over the highway right-of-way.

Processing time

The review process for Highway Corridor Management permit applications varies based on the type and complexity of application. The ministry’s
Highway Corridor Management Public Service Commitment standard lists the ministry’s commitment to provide prompt and clear information and guidance to help process your Highway Corridor Management permit applications.

Once an application is submitted, the progress of the review process can be viewed online by visiting our online tracking page.

Land Use Planning

The role of the Ministry of Transportation in municipal planning

Ministry responsibilities include preserving the safety, mobility and functionality of our provincial highway network. A safe, modern and efficient multimodal transportation network is critical to keeping people and goods moving, connecting communities and improving quality of life for all Ontario residents.

It is imperative that MTO be involved in the early stages of municipal land use planning in order to ensure that all ministry interests are considered when developing local official plans. It is in the interest of good land use planning that MTO be involved in the early stages of municipal land use planning processes and the development of municipal plans.

MTO also offers policy direction, guidance and technical advice to municipalities though our One Window Provincial Planning Service. We also provide input to technical advisory committees. Through the One Window process, MTO provides comments on official plans, secondary plans, transportation master plans, and similar plans to ensure that proposed transportation policies are consistent with current legislation, provincial plans and guidelines where applicable.

MTO staff also provides comments on all development applications (subdivisions, consents, zoning amendments, etc.) within our permit control authority, under the Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act. Typically, MTO's comments are specific to highway access, technical matters and other permit-related issues and conditions.

Review of municipal plans

Through the One Window process, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs (MMA) notifies its partner ministries, including MTO, of a municipality's intent to begin the official planning process. MTO then has the opportunity to advise the municipality of any ministry interests that need to be addressed in the plan, and to suggest necessary studies at the very early stage of the official plan development (i.e. Traffic Impact Studies, Drainage and Storm-water Management Reports). MTO will provide written comments and may also plan in-person meetings with municipal staff and or partner ministries to help clearly identify issues.

Official plans are not shared with MTO in cases where an upper-tier municipality has been assigned approval authority by MMA to sign off on a lower-tier's official plan Nonetheless, it remains the responsibility of all municipalities as part of the Municipal Plan Review to ensure that these plans are in line with all provincial legislation, policies and practices.

MTO is interested in reviewing lower-tier official plans if there are potential impacts on the provincial transportation system. Again, we encourage all municipalities to contact MTO early in their official planning process to ensure that your proposed plans align with MTO's permit controls.

MTO’s interest in municipal official plans in focused on general transportation policies and planning as well as more specific technical and operational issues. Please note that not all of these issues will apply to a given municipality.

Regional Highway Corridor Management Sections

Regional Highway Corridor Management sections are responsible for permit administration and land use planning functions such as reviewing development applications, subdivisions, zoning amendment applications, and severances.

For information on highway corridor management policies and procedures, you can use our submit an inquiry page to have your question directed to the appropriate Highway Corridor Management staff for follow-up.

Frequently asked questions

Q: What is the purpose of highway corridor management?
A: The ministry supports economic development and ensures the safety and efficiency of the provincial highway network by facilitating responsible development within and adjacent to the highway corridor.